Chapter 17: A Surprisingly Reliable Little Dragon

“Ahhh!!”

A girl’s frightened scream suddenly rang out in a lush forest filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers. A small figure dropped straight down into a patch of blossoms.

“Tsk tsk~ I told you the master is useless~”

Another, even smaller figure appeared beside her. After entering the secret realm, Mo Xiao had come out from Bai Yuan’s spirit world to guard her.

The dangers inside a secret realm were far from few.

Most came from the spiritual creations within the realm itself, while a smaller portion came from fellow students who had entered together.

The number of spirit materials in any given realm was limited, so the academy didn’t forbid competition among students—but it was strictly limited to competition.

Students were not allowed to kill each other. Compete if you must, but never go for the kill.

As for spiritual creations, they were easy enough to understand.

Different creators produced different worlds, and naturally, the creatures within those worlds varied as well.

If it were a world of the undead, one might encounter ghosts everywhere. If it were a dragon world, then dragon-type creatures would be common.

These creations usually rejected outsiders, so they would often attack the students.

Of course, the Will Secret Realm wasn’t very dangerous—only a two-star difficulty.

The creatures here were mostly wild beasts and poisonous animals, relatively easy to deal with.

“You didn’t mention the teleportation would be this rough! And we got dropped straight from the sky!”

Bai Yuan climbed up from the flower patch. She was still wearing her favorite pure white dress and white thigh-high socks—now completely dirtied.

If she’d known it would be wilderness inside, she would’ve worn sportswear. What a mistake.

Her knowledge of secret realms had been rushed—she hadn’t really learned much about the Will Secret Realm beforehand.

“Wait! How do we get out?”

Her expression suddenly changed as she realized something crucial.

The old man had told her to leave before six—but how exactly was she supposed to leave?

“Idiot! Just repeat ‘exit’ three times in your mind. When you passed through that light barrier earlier, it left a mark on you. The teacher literally explained this yesterday—you weren’t even listening, useless master~”

Mo Xiao puffed her cheeks and complained.

Too much had happened yesterday, so Bai Yuan hadn’t paid proper attention in class.

The Bai Yuan from her previous life hadn’t been this clueless… Mo Xiao wondered if maybe she’d scolded her into becoming like this.

Maybe she should stop calling her an idiot—what if she actually became one?

“Don’t just stand there! Run!”

Mo Xiao’s expression suddenly changed as she glanced at the vibrant flower field. She grabbed Bai Yuan’s hand and dashed straight into the forest.

“W-wait!? What’s going on? At least explain!”

Bai Yuan stumbled wildly as she was dragged along, nearly falling several times.

“Useless master, just look behind you. If you want to get stung into a pincushion by hornets, feel free to stop.”

Last time, Mo Xiao hadn’t landed in a flower field. For some reason, this time they had dropped straight into a hornet-infested area.

Her eyes scanned the surroundings rapidly.

There was no way they could outrun the swarm while dragging Bai Yuan—she needed to find a hiding place.

Bai Yuan didn’t even need to turn around. The loud buzzing behind her told her everything.

Her face turned pale.

“W-what do we do…?”

“Let’s hide in that cave. We’ll block the entrance. As long as there aren’t too many, I can handle them.”

Mo Xiao’s golden eyes lit up as she spotted a dark cave.

A faint stench drifted out—clearly, a large bear lived inside.

Compared to a swarm of hornets, a bear was much easier to deal with.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. A clock-like pattern appeared within her golden pupils.

This was a terrifying ability she had once seen in another work—rewritten into her own settings at birth using the Creation God’s power.

Tick. Tock.

Time stopped.

Mo Xiao released Bai Yuan’s hand, her small body vanishing instantly at the cave entrance.

Inside, a bear was sleeping soundly.

She stomped forward and slammed her fist straight into its head.

Bang!

The bear wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon.

Seeing the large bump forming on its head, Mo Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

Click.

Time resumed.

She could only maintain that ability for two seconds—for now.

Without wasting time, she rushed back, pulled the stunned Bai Yuan into the cave, and kicked a massive rock over to block the entrance.

Though a few gaps remained, it was enough—as long as they weren’t swarmed, Mo Xiao could handle a few hornets.

Everything had happened so fast that Bai Yuan’s heart was still pounding.

She looked at the little dragon girl standing guard at the entrance, still in shock.

What was going on?

This arrogant, trash-talking little dragon… was actually this reliable!?

It felt like she was looking at a completely different person from the Mo Xiao who usually ran her mouth nonstop.

“Hey! Trying to sneak in, huh? Take this—Dragon Claw!”

Seeing a hornet try to slip inside, Mo Xiao flicked it away with lightning speed.

The most troublesome rule here was that they weren’t allowed to kill these spiritual creations.

“Ah!? W-why is there a giant bear here!?”

Bai Yuan looked deeper into the cave.

Normally, she wouldn’t be able to see clearly, but for some reason, a faint white glow illuminated the interior.

Seeing the bear so close, she panicked and pressed herself against Mo Xiao, clutching her skirt tightly.

“What are you afraid of, useless master? I already knocked it out. We’ll just wait here until the hornets leave.”

A trace of nostalgia flashed in Mo Xiao’s eyes.

In the past, when Bai Yuan got scared, she would bury herself against her chest…

Now that was gone forever.

All Bai Yuan could do now was tug on her skirt—and she herself had shrunk to barely bun-sized…

“When did you even do that? You moved so fast—I didn’t even see you!”

This was the first time Bai Yuan had witnessed Mo Xiao’s strength.

For someone who had done nothing but mock her since birth, she was unbelievably powerful.

And just now—she had looked incredibly cool.

Clean, decisive movements, no hesitation at all.

It felt like she had extensive combat experience.

“Hmph~ now you finally realize how amazing your book spirit is. As long as you write properly, useless master, one day I’ll even drag a god down from their throne.”

Mo Xiao looked quite pleased with herself as she flicked away a few more hornets.

Seriously—just knocking over a few flowers, and they were still guarding the entrance?

“So stubborn…”

“Uh… I know you’re amazing, Mo Xiao, but maybe don’t say things like that. The Creation God might get angry…”

Bai Yuan nervously glanced around.

She had long heard that the Creation God truly existed, with countless fanatical believers across the world.

If someone overheard that earlier statement, they might be burned alive on a stake.

“Relax. We’re in a secret realm. Those two can’t come in here anyway.”

Mo Xiao’s dragon tail wrapped gently around Bai Yuan’s body.

The warm heat gradually calmed her down, and her racing heart slowly settled.